Opinion

They're everywhere. No matter how hard we try to avoid them, we just can't. "Twilight" author Stephenie Meyer's Edward Cullen and J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter are all over our Facebook walls, newsfeeds, quizzes, groups and bumper stickers. Especially those damn bumper stickers...

UC Irvine's Anteater Band Lonely During Sporting Events :'-(

The phrase "war on terror" encapsulates the Bush presidency. This phrase, which offered Americans so much hope in the immediate aftermath of Sept. 11, has defined our foreign and domestic policy for the past eight years. However, until now, I have never actually thought about what a "war on terror" means. Initially I thought it was a worthy endeavor, especially for America.

When it comes to the Grammys, to show support is to pay up. While the Los Angeles city deficit is up to $433 million, the City Council has decided to fork over $124,163 for the Grammy Awards ceremony, bringing the money spent on awards shows to $750,000 over the past two years.

Bennie Dean Herring went to the Coffee County Sheriff's Department to retrieve something from his impounded truck on July 7, 2004. Investigator Mark Anderson asked the county's warrant clerk, Sandy Pope, to check for any outstanding warrants for Herring's arrest. When she found none, Pope checked with her counterpart in neighboring Dale County, Sharon Morgan. Morgan checked Dale County's computer database and relayed to Pope an active arrest warrant for Herring's failure to appear on a felony charge.

The Pentagon recently decided not to award the Purple Heart to military personnel who develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as a result of combat. This has been an issue of significant contention within the military community due to there being a variety of opinions on the issue. One side believes that soldiers deserve recognition for their wounds, be they physical or mental. The other side argues that the venerability of this award would be eroded by the influx of recipients who do not necessarily suffer as a direct result of the actions of the enemy.

George W. Bush's last week in office has just about ended the Reagan era. That's not to say Reaganism is outdated – it is not and never can be – but it is to say that the Republican Party is in absolute shambles, thanks in large part to a leader who did everything but lead. It's sad to say, but Bush has really become our Carter.

It's tax season, so it's once again time to try and cook the books enough to get a little extra beer money from that return. Some of the most important tools that students have in their tax arsenal are the various educational deductions and tax credits, capable of wiping out most of the tax liabilities that we impoverished academicians carry around.

The United States military is an honorable institution with a long tradition of pride, honor and distinction. However, within the walls of this institution lies a darker legacy, one dealing with the unfair treatment of its gay and lesbian soldiers. Its current "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy forces many soldiers to hide their sexual orientation, or face being ejected from serving their country. While promoted as a "compromise," this policy has seen the dismissal of nearly 13,000 soldiers for acknowledging – or outing – their homosexuality.

As California continues to reel during this economic downturn, the University of California has been one of the biggest victims of this financial debacle. Once again, higher education has been hit with budget cuts. In response, those who run one of the best public school systems in the country recently got together and discussed in length (read: desperately) the different solutions they could possibly enact, such as retooling UC admissions policies, in order to meet Governor Terminator's budget cuts.

UC Irvine's administration must unequivocally denounce the shelling of both the Islamic University of Gaza, one of the premier universities in Gaza, and the U.N. charter school. The latter bombing has resulted in as many as 50 deaths (almost all of them civilians and students) and is part of a larger act of Israeli military aggression that has claimed over 700 lives and injured thousands in the past 13 days. We also call on the Associated Students, the Associated Graduate Students and the UCI Academic Senate to introduce and pass resolutions condemning the murderous violence perpetrated on the students, educators and working families in Gaza.

When I went to the used car lot with my parents, gas was shooting well beyond $3 per gallon. To fill up a tank cost the equivalent of going to the movies seven times. I told my parents I wanted something with good handling and low gas mileage; they bought me an SUV.